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Jonathan Smith Submits Written Testimony in Support of Human Rights Amendment Act of 2017

The Committee Launches its Parent Empowerment Program Application

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September 15, 2017

Our overall goal is to engage parents by way of empowerment. We believe a part of building equity in education begins when all voices are heard and progress is being made. Empowering parents to have a voice in their child’s education, and bring change to their school community, we believe, is a step towards closing the resource and opportunity gap; which will begin the process of closing the achievement gap.

The brief was submitted along with a number of civil rights groups including the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, Advocates for Youth, Center for Reproductive Rights, Chicago Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, Judge David L. Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law, Mississippi Center forJustice, National Center for Lesbian Rights, National Urban League, and the Southern Coalition for Social Justice.

Charlottesville, Va. — Women incarcerated at the Fluvanna Correctional Center for Women (FCCW) filed a motion for contempt in the Federal District Court in Charlottesville on Wednesday, asking the court to enforce a class action Settlement Agreement decided upon last year. The agreement, approved by Judge Norman K. Moon on February 5, 2016, requires supervision of the medical care systems at the prison by an independent Compliance Monitor for at least three years. The women charge that FCCW continues to fail to provide constitutionally adequate medical care in violation of the agreement.

The Committee Stands with Immigrant Communities and Opposes the Termination of DACA

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September 5, 2017

The decision today by the administration of President Donald Trump to terminate the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program is an assault on the dreams and hopes of as many as 800,000 young people and is inconsistent with the values of this Nation. DACA participants – Dreamers – came to the United States as children. They work, go to school, raise families and contribute to the richness and health of our community. The United States is their home, often the only home they have known.

Class Actions Challenge Brutal Practices in Federal Prison

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September 5, 2017

The use of solitary confinement or other forms of isolation has become commonplace across the country. Between 80,000 and 100,000 prisoners in the United States are confined to a cell for 22 or more hours per day, often alone but sometimes with a cellmate. Terms of isolation can last for years, and in many cases, decades. Prisoners are cut off from other human interaction, physical activity, and productive endeavors. This isolation is cruel and harmful to anyone, but especially for prisoners with mental illness.

The Committee’s Public Education Project, Coalition for DC Public Schools & Communities: June 19 Reversal Approving DC Prep Enrollment Petition Violated the Law

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September 1, 2017

The Committee’s Public Education Project joined several members from every DC Ward of the Coalition for DC Public Schools & Communities in demanding that the Public Charter School Board (PCSB) reconsider and rehear its June 19, 2017 approval of DC Prep’s petition to expand enrollment. A recent decision by the DC Office of Open Government found that the June 19 hearing violated the DC Open Meetings Act, the School Reform Act, and the PCSB’s own practices. At an April 24 hearing, C4DC and other community members opposed the expansion of DC Prep on several grounds, including its record of suspending 23-28% of its middle school students each year, according to a recent GAO Report. The PCSB denied DC Prep’s petition at the April 24 hearing, but without notice to the public that it would reconsider the matter, on June 19 the PCSB reversed its decision and granted the DC Prep petition.